My First DIY of 2013 :: Granny Square Pillow Covers

One of the things I want to do more of this year is DIY projects for around the house. We have had this couch since we got married, so almost 9 years. And the pillows that came with the couch are ugly. I don't like them at all. They are boring and the colours are just gross.

I have been wanting to make new pillow covers for a while, but I just never sat down and got it done. But this year, I said to myself, "Shirley, you have to do these pillow cases. If you won't do them, they won't get done, and you'll be stuck looking at those ugly pillows forever... or until you get a new couch." So I hunkered down and made some covers. And here is the result:

Here are some pictures of the works in progress:

This was the first pillow cover I had done. I couldn't get a good adjustment of the colour to show off that fabulous olive green yarn; I think it has something to do with the light and the phone on my camera - it sucks. So this will have to do.

I just LOOOOVE this teal colour - one of my favourites!! I was working on this at work during my lunch break. This is what I got done in 15 minutes. Pretty decent, I'd say!

My plan originally was to use one ball of yarn for each pillow. But after I had crocheted one side (13 "rounds" of granny squares), I quickly realized that I did not have enough yarn for the entire pillow. So I got a ball of neutral yarn (I chose dark grey), and for the front side of the pillow, I alternated between the colour and the dark grey. When I was all done, I tucked in all the loose ends of yarn and did slip stitches around the edges, being careful to match the stitches together so the pillow would be even. And that was it! I did that three times, once for each pillow, and voila! I love my pillows again!

Since we only have three pillows (the other was chewed apart by a dog), I plan on making a round granny square pillow - a ROUND one!! Maybe a dark cherry red with the dark grey - there has to be some resemblance between them! I'll see what yarn I've got to work with.